Nikolaos Dimakis, Lazaros Polymenakos and John Soldatos Athens Information Technology

1. Enhancing Learning Experiences through Context-Aware Collaborative Services: Software Architecture and Prototype System Nikolaos Dimakis, Lazaros Polymenakos and John Soldatos Athens Information Technology 19,5 Km Markopoulou Ave. Peania, GR 19002 +30 2106682759 e-mail: {ndim, lcp, jsol}@ait.edu.gr http://www.ait.gr/research/RG1/overview.asp

2. Introduction • Introduction / Motivation • Software Architecture for e-learning • Sensors and Actuators • Context-Acquisition • Service tier • The `Memory Jog’ Service • Applicable to e-learning • Evaluation results

3. Introduction • Introduction / Motivation • Software Architecture for e-learning • Sensors and Actuators • Context-Acquisition • Service tier • The `Memory Jog’ Service • Applicable to e-learning • Evaluation results

4. Pervasive-Ubiquitous Computing Vision • Vision: • Transform physical spaces into computationally active and intelligent environments • Human-Centric services offered transparently regardless of time and end-users location • Technology Trends - Enablers: • Broadband/ Wireless Networks • Web Services - Top Layer Interoperability • PDA’s, Mobile Phones • Cheap Multi-Purpose Sensors • Recognition Algorithms • Adaptivity & User Profiling Technologies

5. Main application areas • Smart house • Smart office • Health care - telemedicine • Ambient assisted living • Security • E-learning

6. Major Challenges • High Distribution • Context-Awareness • Transparency • Heterogeneity • Software / Hardware • Sensors, Terminals, Devices • Mobility • Personalization • Autonomy • Dynamism

7. CHIL – Computers in the Human Interaction Loop • EU FP6 Integrated Project (IP 506909) • Coordinators: Universität Karlsruhe (TH) Fraunhofer Institute IITB • Duration: 36 months • Total Project costs: Over 24M€ • Goal: Create environments in which computers serve humans who focus on interacting with other humans as opposed to having to attend to and being preoccupied with the machines themselves • Key Research Areas: • Perceptual Technologies • Human-Centric Pervasive Services • Software Infrastructure

8. … a little more technical • Introduction / Motivation • Software Architecture for e-learning • Sensors and Actuators • Context-Acquisition • Service tier • The `Memory Jog’ Service • Applicable to e-learning • Evaluation results

9. Software Architecture • 3 tier approach • Sensors and Actuators tier • Cameras, microphones, Targeted Audio, Projectors, Displays, etc. • Context-Acquisition tier • Body Tracker, Face Identification, Audio Source Localization, Speech Activity Detection, etc. • Service tier • JADE Agent Framework.

10. Context-awareness • Dey & Abowd (1999) • Context is: “any information that can be used to characterise the situation of an entity, where an entity can be a person, place, physical or computational object” • Context-awareness  human-centric ubiquitous computing • “Smart Learning Spaces”  a realization of the ubiquitous computing paradigm

11. Non-obtrusive interaction • Sensors • Cameras • Microphones • No wearable computers, no RFID tags

12. Context-Acquisition tier • a.k.a. Perceptual Components tier. • Exploits sensor signals to extract elementary context. • Locations of people • Identities of people • Speaker location • Fusion of PCs  Situation Recognition

13. Examples

14. Situation Model for a lecture

15. Service tier • Following the JADE Framework for distributed agents. • Each service extends ServiceAgent • Basic functionalities are ensured: Communication, Message extraction, Database Querying etc. • Situation modeling • Enables situation recognition, situation model tracking and event notification • Sensor and actuator control • KnowledgeBase and Database interfacing. • Each user is managed by PersonalAgent

16. Agent-hierarchy

17. Knowledge Base • Directory mechanism, leveraging a knowledge base • “yellow pages” for students, courses, research etc • Registration repository for existing components • “Smart queries” • “Which camera faces the door?”

18. Specialized Middleware • Glue two conceptually different ends together • IBM’s CHILiX • NIST SmartFlow • Significantly boost distribution

19. Architectural snapshot

20. … The Memory Jog service • Introduction / Motivation • Software Architecture for e-learning • Sensors and Actuators • Context-Acquisition • Service tier • The `Memory Jog’ Service • Applicable to e-learning • Evaluation results

21. The Memory Jog • A lecture, meeting support service. It provides: • Pertinent information to participants • Interfacing with Databases for past event querying • Preferred features, such as: • Agenda tracking • Intelligent Video Recording • Handles mobile participants (PDAs)

22. The Memory Jog (cont.) • It exploits: • The whole range of the sensors and actuators • All registered Perceptual Components • Databases for information retrieval and Knowledgebases for high level reasoning • Both are controlled by specialized agent-members of the service-tier.

23. The Memory Jog (cont..) • It looks like:

24. Memory Jog features for e-learning • The Memory Jog features: • Intelligent Video Recording. • Contextual database search. • Automated notification using Targeted Audio. • Etc.

25. Intelligent Video Recording

26. Results • Introduction / Motivation • Software Architecture for e-learning • Sensors and Actuators • Context-Acquisition • Service tier • The `Memory Jog’ Service • Applicable to e-learning • Evaluation results

27. Focus Groups Evaluation • 25 people participated • Students • Engineers • Management Personnel • Faculty

28. AIT’s Smart Learning Space

29. The End • Questions?